Did this race on the spur of the moment. Glad I did it though! was a great time!

Biggest issue for me today was altitude. I've definately lost much of that altitude conditioning that I enjoyed when I lived in this area. Mile 1 felt really good, I felt loose and relaxed, although I could tell that I was having to work harder for air.

Walked for a few seconds at Mile 1.25, as I felt good but needed to catch my breath. Kept plugging along, passing others, and yes, getting passed, but I really was enjoying myself. The first two miles of the race are almost exclusively along the course of the GRAND PARADE which started at 9:00 am, just about 1:45 minutes after the race started. The parade is huge and people camp out the night before to get good seats for it. As I was running (along with probably 1500-2000 others) it was great to have a great crowd along the course cheering for the runners. Made it a LOT of fun, and kept me wanting to do well.

Not much crowd along the last 3/4 mile of the course until you started to get close to the finish area. THen there were LOTS of people

Mile three starts out with a short downhill and then a pretty steep climb. It was starting to get hot, and well, I still struggled with getting enmough air. It really slowed me down. I felt like I could run it, but I'd have to walk, because the air was thin. Altitude here is about 4700 feet above Sea Level, and with the warm temperatures, I sure the pressure altitude was closer to 5000 feet. I just could get enough air.

Ran into the finish chute, got my Finishers medal (Yes -- for a 5k) and got some water. Met up with my Nephew and Drew, and walked it off. After about 20 minutes or so, I walked about a mile to the Parade Route to join up with my kids to wathc the BIG parade



Just manage pace a little better early on -- especially at altitude.

Otherwise, not much else.

GOt water, medal and walked it off


Altitude


While it's only a 5k and 10k event, this race is done with class. T-Shirts were high quality Technical Fabric, Plenty of water and Aid Stations, and Finishers Medals. They even chip timed the event!

The course also makes it a fun race, as you run along the parade route.

While will never be a "A" race for me, it was a lot of fun, and would do it againg in a heartbeat!